G-PHS September 2020 Newsletter Blood Drive Appointments highly recommended Mask required Call 361-855-4943 or go to coastalbendbloodcenter.org. Donors will receive a t-shirt and a COVID-19 antibody test while supplies last. Flu Season Flu shots are available earlier than usual. Please go to your doctor’s office, the local pharmacies or the county health department for this immunization. This is more important than ever! Wash Your Hands! We are a culture that eats many things with our hands. We all love a morning taco, chips and salsa, hamburgers, hotdogs and French fries. You get the idea, so think before you pick up your donut or sandwich and be aware of how important it is to have clean hands. Stay safe-stay well! Rhonda Morales RN Nurse G-PHS Inside This Issue! FAFSA Night Coming Soon G-PHS will offer a virtual informational meeting on financial aid for college for all seniors. Information on the FAFSA Night and how to access the meeting will be posted soon on the G-PHS webpage and through the TEAMS Senior page. Page 3 - G-PHS Welcomes Newest Addition Pages 5 & 6 - New Faces Teacher Spotlight Page 7 - Creative Writing - The Storm Senior Red Cords Seniors, to earn your red cord for graduation you must give blood three times in your senior year or have five units donated in your name. I want to thank both students and parents for your hard work and effort to do school in a new way during this unique begin- ning to the school year. This year brings challenges to all of us that we have never faced before. I know that all Wildcats will be up to the task, and we will have a successful school year. We look forward to see- ing students who have chosen to come back to campus, and we will continue to provide quality instruction for those students who will remain with virtual learn- ing. I encourage students to continue to log in and complete your assignments on a daily basis. Reach out to your teachers through TEAMS or by e-mail to get the help you may need with assign- ments. Teachers are more than willing to help you however they can. Remember that the virtues of patience and kindness go a long way when dealing with others during difficult times. Hang in there and remem- ber that we are ALWAYS proud of our Wildcats! Mr. Eddleman From the Principal Kyde Eddleman Saturday, Sept. 19 11 a.m. - 4 p.m. Hardknocks-Portland Tuesday, Sept. 29 6 p.m. Virtual Page 11-15 - G-PHS College Fair Info Page 8 - The Weekly Dig Page 9 & 10 - Testing Information Page 2 - New CTE Building Coming Soon Page 4 - Testing Reminders
Transcript
G-PHS September
2020
Newsletter
Blood DriveAppointments highly recommendedMask requiredCall 361-855-4943 or go to coastalbendbloodcenter.org.Donors will receive a t-shirt and a COVID-19 antibody test while supplies last.
Flu SeasonFlu shots are available earlier than usual. Please go to your doctor’s office, the local pharmacies or the county health department for this immunization.This is more important than ever!
Wash Your Hands!We are a culture that eats many things with our hands. We all love a morning taco, chips and salsa, hamburgers, hotdogs and French fries. You get the idea, so think before you pick up your donut or sandwich and be aware of how important it is to have clean hands.Stay safe-stay well!Rhonda Morales RNNurse G-PHS
Inside This Issue!
FAFSA Night Coming SoonG-PHS will offer a virtual informational meeting on financial aid for college for all seniors. Information on the FAFSA Night and how to access the meeting will be posted soon on the G-PHS webpage and through the TEAMS Senior page.
Page 3 - G-PHS Welcomes Newest Addition
Pages 5 & 6 - New Faces Teacher Spotlight
Page 7 - Creative Writing - The Storm
Senior Red CordsSeniors, to earn your red cord for graduation you must give blood three times in your senior year or have five units donated in your name.
I want to thank both students and parents for your hard work and effort to do school in a new way during this unique begin-ning to the school year. This year brings challenges to all of us that we have never faced before. I know that all Wildcats will be up to the task, and we will have a successful school year. We look forward to see-ing students who have chosen to come back to campus, and we will continue to provide quality instruction for those students who will remain with virtual learn-ing.
I encourage students to continue to log in and complete your assignments on a daily basis. Reach out to your teachers through TEAMS or by e-mail to get the help you may need with assign-ments. Teachers are more than willing to help you however they can.
Remember that the virtues of patience and kindness go a long way when dealing with others during difficult times. Hang in there and remem-ber that we are ALWAYS proud of our Wildcats!
New CTE Building To House New Classes At High School
Gregory Portland High School is construct-ing a new Career and Technical Education (CTE) building, scheduled to be ready Au-
gust 2021.Tena Walls, CTE department chairperson, said
the new building will house mainly the Health Science programs and a few new mechatronics classes. The robotics classes may utilize the space as well.
“Mechatronics is a combination of robotics, electronics, and instrumentation along with many other components,” Walls said.
Catherine Teel, College and Career counselor, said Health Science classes receive Continuing Education Credit through Del Mar.
“Continuing Ed classes allow students to gain knowledge in a particular field and possibly obtain a certification upon passing an exam,” she said. “The credits are not transferable to other colleg-es, but the certifications are usually state/nation-ally recognized.”
Walls said a special floor will be built for the mechatronics equipment because the robots are massive and weigh more than normal.
“If students are interested in mechatronics, they can start by taking Mr. Turner‘s robotics
classes as an introduction and then traverse into that program.” she said. “Students interested in the health science classes need to sign up for one of the four available to choose from: Phlebotomy, EKG, Patient Care Tech, and Certified Nursing As-sistant.”
Walls said GP wants to make as many options available to students as possible.
“GP High School and Administration wants to give students every opportunity to be successful in all different facets of life,” Walls said “This is a perfect example of giving to our students.”
Students who want to learn a trade coupled with high technology and a high paying job will have these programs as a good avenue, Walls said.
“Students can get certified and start careers right after high school and earn a great living without college expenses, or the students can get a jump start on a college education,” she said.
Walls said the building should be open for class-es next year.
“It is going to be beautiful and beneficial for our students,” she said.
by Savannah Stephenson
Staff photo
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Good Morning to our GP WildCat & LadyCat Family!Our little LadyCat just couldn’t wait to join us and de-
cided to bless us early!!!Andy and I have welcomed our Gorgeous Baby Girl,
Gemma Lou Smith, into the World!Gemma was born on Aug. 22, 2020, at 12:29 p.m.
She weighed 6 lbs. 9 oz. and measured 19 inches long.We could not be more proud and more in love! Andy and I are so blessed and thankful to have such
an amazing support system around us! We love you all with all our hearts!
G-PHS Welcomes Newest Addition
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Around Campus
Emily Drown signs Kyde Eddleman’s secret birthday banner, which was given to him Friday. Teachers and staff also joined in a Zoom Happy Birthday song after school (inset).
Head Volleyball Coach Adrian Smith with husband Andy share a photo of Gemma Lou Smith.
Staff photo
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Yearbooks can now be pur-chased online by going to commpe.pictavo.com. While there, you can take ad-vantage of multi-book specials as well as purchase books from 2018, 2019 and 2020. These books are currently in stock and can be picked up on campus after purchase is made by contacting [email protected]. In addition, you can order the 2021 yearbook with or without personalization. Contact [email protected] for more information.
G-PHS Newsletter Savannah Stephenson Sydney Stephenson Emily Maher Layne Falkenberg
Roger Ploch-adviser
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Above: David Avalos and Tristan Lindley serve against Victoria East and go on to win 8-0. David and Tristan play Line 1 Doubles for GP and were undefeated last year in District. David was the District MVP. Both are juniors. (Staff photos)Below: An aerial photo taken with a drone of the tennis courts and campus. (photo by Jeff Howard)
David Avalos Tristan Lindley
Fall Tennis Season Begins
Students who registered for the ASVAB will need to report to the GP High School campus caf-eteria on Sept. 23, 2020, at 8 a.m. If you are at-tending the “Virtual (Online) Academy” at home, on the day of the ASVAB administration you will need to report to campus and enter the building at the student entrance. Doors open at 7:30 a.m. Students are required to check in using “Dr. Owl” on their cell phone, or they will be screened at the door entrance for COVID-19 symptoms. All stu-dents are always expected to wear a face mask or covering. Hand sanitizer is available at building entrances, common areas and other high traffic locations.
Next, this is a reminder that GP High School AP students who are interested in taking an Advanced Placement exam this school year need to complete AP exam registration by/before the deadline of Friday, October 9, 2020. AP exam registration is not completed until the online pay-ment for the exam or exams has been made, AND the student has submitted their AP Exam Regis-tration form to the Guidance Office via email at [email protected]. Please refer to the AP Exam Registration form and the “How-To” for making an online testing payment that are included in this newsletter.
This is the last reminder that registration has begun for the Preliminary S.A.T. / National Merit Scholarship Qualifying Test, also known as the PSAT/NMSQT, which is recommended for 10th and 11th grade students. However, it is available to 9th grade, 10th grade, and 11th grade students who want to take the PSAT/NMSQT. Registration will end on October 2, 2020. The PSAT/NMSQT will be administered on October 14, 2020, on the GP High School campus starting promptly at 8 a.m. The testing fee is $20 and must be paid online at the GPISD website before a student’s registration is complete. Students can email Mrs. Trevino, Counseling Dept. Secretary, at [email protected] with your registration infor-mation (First & Last Name, Student I.D. #, and your current grade level).
For information about other exams and testing such as the SAT, ACT, Credit by Exam, TSI, please go to the G-PISD website at https://www.g-pisd.org/departments-services/testing or on the G-P High School website at https://www.g-pisd.org/gphs/campus-info/counselors-scholarships/test-ing.
ASVAB, AP Exam, PSAT/NMSQT, SAT, ACT, and TSI Testing Information
What do you teach/coach, etc. on our campus?SPECIAL EDUCATION - FS TEACHER & PACES /I COACH FOOTBALL AND TRACK AT GPHSHow long have you been teaching/coaching?14 YEARSWhat are you looking forward to most this year?BEING IN THE SCHOOL BUILDING AND GETTING TO SEE KIDS LEARN IN THE CLASSROOM.What are your hobbies?BOW HUNTINGDo you have any kids/pets?ONE DAUGHTER, GEMMA LOU SMITH, BORN AUG. 22, 2020 TWO PETS - TWO ENGLISH BULLDOGS - WATSON AND WINNIEWhat do you love best about GP so far?THIS IS MY SECOND TIME TO WORK AT GP, AND I LOVE THE POSITIVE ENVIRONMENT CREATED BY THE CAMPUS ADMINIS-TRATION. THEY TRULY CARE ABOUT THEIR EMPLOYEES AND THAT MAKES COMING TO WORK ENJOYABLE AND FUN. YOU KNOW THEY WILL SUPPORT YOU. Tell us something interesting about yourself, such as a weird talent or something people don’t know about you.I PLAYED AND COACHED COLLEGE FOOTBALL AT UTEP (UT-EL PASO).Add anything else you would like for your GP family to know about you.MY WIFE, THE OTHER COACH SMITH, IS THE BEST VOLLEYBALL COACH IN THE STATE OF TEXAS! STRONG - PROUD - ONE
Andy Smith with wife and G-P Coach Adrian Smith and pets Watson and Winnie
New Faces
Andy Smith
New Faces
Kayla Jonse What do you teach/coach, etc. on our campus? -GPHS Cheer Coach/Special EducationHow long have you been teaching/coaching? -This is my seventh year to teach What are you looking forward to most this year?- I am looking forward to getting back to normal- normal school schedule, normal practices, normal sporting events, seeing all the studentsWhat are your hobbies?- I love going to the beach as a family and listening to live Texas Country musicDo you have any kids/pets?-Two Boys- Turner (7) Nolan (4)What do you love best about GP so far?- I love the new teacher and staff friends I’ve made. There are some really great people who work for our district. Tell us something interesting about yourself, such as a weird talent or something people don’t know about you (ex: compete in hot wings eating contests, etc.)- I can still do my back handspring!Add anything else you would like for your GP family to know about you.-I am excited to be on the HS campus to service my students and my teachers. I love helping others and seeing hard work pay off!
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Kayla Jonse
New Faces
Michelle Costilla
What do you teach/coach, etc. on our campus? I am the librarian on campus. How long have you been teaching/coaching?This is my 17th year with GPISD.What are you looking forward to most this year?I am looking forward to watching all of us grow this year in ways we would have never imagined. Dealing with adversity is not al-ways easy. I want to look back on this year and sigh with relief because we did it, together we rose to the occasion and success-fully triumphed over all obstacles. What are your hobbies?My hobbies include walking/jogging and going to the FRIO as much as I can.Do you have any kids/pets? I have two children. I have a 19-year-old son named Hunter and a seven-year-old daughter named Taylor.What do you love best about GP so far? What I love best about GP is the Great People and comradery. Tell us something interesting about yourself, such as a weird talent or something people don’t know about you.Something interesting about myself is that I was on the first ever GP Ladycat Softball Team that was established in 1995.
Michelle Costilla
Around Campus
Above: Vanessa Avila reaches out to Del Mar dual credit students who need help logging in/navigat-ing Canvas, Del Mar’s version of Microsoft Teams.
Right: Sophomore Israel Trevino assembles a prototype robot that will be used for student training in programming.
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Staff photo
photo by Jonathan Turner
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This is Creative Writing’s first year at our school. This is a unique course that offers both writing skills for fic-tion as well as a class devoted to writ-ing scholarships.
We kicked off the year writing Flash Fiction, which is the hardest genre of the short story to create. Everything is condensed
and packed into 50 to 1000 word stories! Character. Conflict. Bang. Boom! Go! End. Few can do it, and even fewer can master it. Why start with Flash Fiction? Scholarship writing is condensed too, and this skill is one of many offered in the course.
I am lucky to have an entire class of talented writ-ers with bright minds. I’ve read their stories that range from cosmic horror to babysitting comedy to Corgi war mounts for the Fey, and even Minoan time travel!
Today we are sharing a fictional story that hits close to home for our community: Hurricanes. I hope you enjoy reading “The Storm” by Andrea Rosenbaum.
Creative Writingby Donald Nutting
Arial stared out the window, tak-ing in the sight of grey skies and bland houses. Almost everyone
evacuated, leaving her alone, not that she’s not used to it by now... It was peaceful in a “calm before the storm” type of way. There were no judgmental stares, barking dogs, or roaring engines; it was just silent. She faintly remem-bered the original weather broadcast, “The tropical storm is expected to form into a category 5 hurricane once it hits land...” Her lips curled into a humor-less smile at the thought as she moved throughout the empty house. She lived alone by default, having been kicked out of her family home after sharing some “artistic” differences. She seclud-ed herself from them by choice, deny-ing how the loneliness left an aching hole in her chest. The wind began to pick up and she glanced out of the clos-est window. The tree branches thrashed back and forth, inching toward the unoccupied house across the street.
She moved away from the window, entering her storage room to gather candles and other essentials. Then she descended to her storm cellar. The image of a cellar occupied by a joy-ous family filled her head, but soon, it morphed into her parents looking down at her from the crumbling stairs, disap-pointment consuming their features. Despondent, she downcast her eyes. “No. that’s all in the past,” she deflected as another morbid thought crossed her mind, “It’s not like they care about me anyway.”
She heard the pattering droplets tran-sition into something angrier, like the rain was attempting to stomp straight
through the roof as the foundation itself creaked against the shrieking wind. She exited the safehold to hastily search for matches before the roof decided to separate from the house. All the while, contemplations of her family battling the storm plagued her mind; she pushed down the urge to contact them. The shrieking wind morphed into a distorted and thunderous gust that rammed part of a tree through Arial’s window, send-ing glass in all directions. She quickly grabbed the matches and rushed toward the cellar. She plopped on the preset cot, staring longingly at the blank wall illuminated by newly lit candles, and reluctantly pulled out her phone, staring conflictedly at the contacts. She sighed in frustration and put her phone aside, laying back on the cot and drifting into a fitful slumber.
She awoke in an empty field that was illuminated by a single light. The light itself radiated warmth that filled her soul. It seemed to beckon her, trying to give her purpose to stay. Arial ap-proached it, extended arms jolting as a blaring siren sounded in all directions, the light dreadfully flickering as tremors ran through it. Arial’s heart dropped, and she dashed to embrace it before it abandoned her in this desolate waste-land. The ground shook with thunder-ous explosions, knocking her to her knees, the light growing dimmer and dimmer as she was being dragged from the only hope left in her life. She des-perately reached out, only for another siren to erupt, sending gallons upon gallons of water to pour above Arial, violently thrashing her against raising waves. Water filled her lungs, she was
choking; she was drowning! The light was now a star in the dark of the mid-night sky. Blurred by watery sight, Arial awoke with a strangled gasp, clawing at her throat for any fragment of air, as exploding thunder rumbled the earth.
She inhaled large gulps of air, grounding herself on the ear aching stat-ic of the rain, and after a few agonizing minutes, the panic subsided. Through the aggressively hissing participation, she could her a muffled ringing. A dim light illuminated from her phone, and it only took her a second until she franti-cally snatched it, clinging to it with all her might.
The display was of a familiar con-tact but stung like a wasp attacking her stomach while she debated whether to answer. Finally, she did, and a voice she hadn’t heard in a year called out des-perately, “Arial? Arial?! Are you there? Please answer...” It was her mother’s breaking voice. She didn’t respond for what felt like an eternity, then hesi-tantly replied “yes?” The storm raged on mauling everything in its path. Her mother became elated, “Thank good-ness, we’ve been so worried.” Arial’s heart fluttered, “You have? “she hesi-tantly asked, biting back hope. “Yes! We’ve been trying to contact you for hours.”
Tears streamed down her cheeks and Arial smiled, allowing herself to hope for just a moment, “I’m ok mom.” After hours of waiting out the hurri-cane, she went outside. Everything was destroyed, but there was a glimmer of sunlight protruding through the clouds, which shined upon Arial’s form.
The STORM by Andrea Rosenbaum
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Fourth Edition Week 1 September 16, 2019
Lady Cat News: WAY TO GO Varsity LadyCats for starting the 2020 Season with a WIN against the
Calallen Wildcats!
Freshman & JV put up a good fight- each taking the WildCats to 3 games but fell
short.- Keep Swinging LadyCats!
Here are your 2020 Gregory-Portland LadyCat Volleyball Teams!
How To Locate Testing Information Specific to GP High School 1 GP High School Website, https://www.g-pisd.org/gphs 2 Click on tab, Campus Info 3 Scroll down to Counselors / Scholarships 4 On right side, blue section, under Counselors / Scholarships
scroll down to Testing and click on Testing 5 Scroll down to see Testing Information
Finding GP High School Testing Information
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ALL TESTING FEES MUST BE PAID ONLINE (Testing Registration Is Not Complete Until Payment is Received & Confirmed. Thank you!)
Complete payment process.
Scroll down and remember to submit. Thank you.
Directions For Making An Online Testing Payment
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GPHS
VIRTUAL COLLEGE FAIR 2020 GPHS Students grades 9-12 will be able to create accounts and login to various time blocks to preview over 200 colleges. There will be presentation videos and some college reps will be available for chat or will post their contact information. Students can login at any of the time blocks and they can log in in the evenings with their families.
Official Virtual TACRAO College Fair Website:
https://falltacrao.swoogo.com/2020virtual/
You will not login at GoToCollegeFairs.com
Step One: Click on the button that says "Step 1 - Register Here for a College Fair"
Step Two: Counselors will register as a Counselor and students will register as a Student. Enter all information correctly.
After creating your accounts - make sure to keep your passwords safe.
By completing these steps, you will be able to participate in the Coastal Bend Virtual College Fair Week BUT NOT UNTIL MONDAY, SEPTEMBER 21, 2020 . College representatives will only be available 9/21-9/23 but the presentations should be available for viewing through the month of October. After logging in, they will have an opportunity to watch presentations or go straight to visiting colleges. Presentations should cover general admissions, financial aid, and college search information.
Start today, by creating your student AND/OR parent accounts!!
Coastal Bend Week: Monday, September
21 – Wednesday, September 23
Gregory-Portland High School - Portland, TX
Tuesday, September 22, 2020
1:00:00 PM 3:00:00 PM
You can also log in during the following
times:
Monday, Sept 21 – Wednesday, Sept 23 9am – 11am
1pm – 3pm
6pm – 8pm
CREATE YOUR ACCOUNT
AT https://falltacrao.swoog
o.com/2020Virtual
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Logging into the College Virtual College Fair Coastal Bend Week: Monday, September 21 – Wednesday, September 23
*College reps will be available at the following times, but you can login at any time:
9:00 – 11:00am, 1:00 – 3:00pm, and 6:00 – 8:00pm
VISIT THE VIRTUAL PLATFORM AT THE WEBSITE BELOW:
https://falltacrao.swoogo.com/2020virtual/
STEP ONE
STEP TWO
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Step One: Register for the College Fair (Two Pages) Click on “Step 1 – Register Here for College Fair” and complete all registration information as a “Student/Family Member.”
Step Two: Login and Enter College Fair Click on “Click Here to Login and Enter College Fair” to explore the virtual fair using your login information. Your email will be your user name. You will have an opportunity to watch presentations and click on various college booths. Please consider watching presentations, then visit colleges. You will have an opportunity to explore over 300 colleges and universities, however not every college may not give you an opportunity to “chat with a representative.
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How to Navigate the College Fair The college fair layout will look like this.
Remember college reps will be available at the following times:
9:00 – 11:00am, 1:00 – 3:00pm, and 6:00 – 8:00pm
You can search/filter schools. You will click on the school’s name to open their virtual college booth.
Colleges will be listed in alphabetical order.
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How to Navigate a College Booth A college fair “booth” will look like this.
![November 2000 [Chased by a Chicken]](https://static.documents.pub/doc/80x56/577cd95f1a28ab9e78a358cb/november-2000-chased-by-a-chicken.jpg)
